smoke and mirrors
by hollyhobbit101
Summary: Peter dreams of green smoke, and clawing hands, and graveyards. (Peter, in the aftermath. FFH spoilers.)


**Title from Smoke and Mirrors by Imagine Dragons**

* * *

Peter dreams.

There's green smoke in his eyes, tendrils creeping into his mouth and his nose, choking him. Peter gasps for air and tries to shout for help, but his voice is gone and he can't breathe, and he wonders if this is what dying feels like. His vision begins to dim, and there's laughter ringing in his ears as he collapses forward and falls to his hands and knees.

_This isn't real, _he thinks, even as panic claws at him, but the laughter only gets worse.

_Oh, Peter,_ Mysterio says. _Are you sure about that?_

Then

Peter

_falls_

When he lands, the smoke is gone. He coughs, rolling onto his back and staring up at a sky full of stars. Only... Peter frowns. There are more stars than he's ever seen in his life, hundreds upon thousands, crowding for space. And they're moving, twisting, _growing, _and suddenly Peter realises that they're not stars at all. He twists, throwing himself to his feet, just in time to avoid the shot that would have killed him. The drones give an angry whine, all descending at once, and Peter runs. He zig-zags from side to side and ducks to avoid flying shrapnel, but as fast as he is, the drones are faster. They begin to catch up, and there's a burning sensation in his arm as he's grazed by a laser. Peter stumbles and cries out, and that's all it takes for them to surround him.

He slows to a stop, panting, and stares into the lens of the closest bot. His own face looks back at him, pale and distorted, and he closes his eyes to shield against it.

"I'm dreaming," he whispers, but the words sound weak even to his ears. The drones whine again, and he braces himself for an impact. If this is a dream, then he won't die, he reasons. And if it isn't... Well, then it isn't.

But nothing happens. Slowly, he opens his eyes, and it takes his brain a second to realise what he's seeing.

He's in the graveyard again, except this time it stretches out as far as Peter can see and further. Tony's grave greets him first, ANTHONY EDWARD STARK glaring out at him. He looks away to avoid the accusation in those letters, only to come face to face with another headstone.

MICHELLE JONES, this one reads, then EDWARD LEEDS, and MAY PARKER, and HAROLD HOGAN. Peter lets out a wordless sob, backing away from the graves and the names, only they seem to follow him, never getting further away. His feet hit something solid and he falls backwards, landing with a soft cry in front of another stone, this one set apart from the rest.

It reads, PETER BENJAMIN PARKER, and Peter's confused for a second, until the ground begins to rumble, and suddenly he understands. The graves begins to split open, the skeletons inside crawling out and reaching for him. Tony's there again, in his ruined Iron Man suit; MJ, with the broken necklace still hanging around her throat; everyone he's ever loved scrambling to get to him and pull him into the ground.

He's almost ready to give himself up to them when one skeleton rises above the rest, looming up in front of Peter. His tattered cape hangs loosely down his back, fish-bowl helmet shattered open to reveal empty sockets.

_You did this to us, Peter,_ Mysterio says. _It's your fault._

The other skeletons join in the chant, grabbing at Peter. _Your fault, _they say. _Your fault, your fault, your fault._

Peter tries to bat them away, but he's being dragged down into the grave at his feet, dirt flowing into his mouth, and he begins to choke again. _Your fault,_ his friends still say, and it's the last thing Peter knows before the earth closes above him.

.

Peter wakes in his own bed. He gasps, shoving his duvet aside as he struggles to breathe. It takes a moment for him to orient himself, and for a moment he thinks it's just another illusion, but then May's snores break through the cacophony in his head, and he knows that he is home. He wonders about getting up and going out on patrol, but he doesn't want to wake May and, besides, she'd soon find out, and he'd be subject to another round of Talks and Concerned Stares for the next week.

So Peter lies back and tries to calm his hammering heart, thinking of the date he's got with MJ later. He's planning to take her swinging through New York, something he's sure she'll love. He smiles at the thought, and his eyes start to close again, heavy with exhaustion. He tries to fight against the allure of sleep, but his body is tired and still healing, and he can't resist for long.

Somewhere in the corners of his mind, Mysterio laughs, and the dream starts over again.


End file.
